“A national credit rating firm reported Friday adoption in Kansas of a block-grant system for financing public schools to be a ‘negative’ development worthy of scrutiny by investors. “Moody’s Investor Service in New York theorized repeal by the 2015 Legislature and Gov. Sam Brownback of the state’s traditional funding mechanism for K-12 schools could disadvantage growing districts because state financing wouldn’t completely take into account expansion of student enrollment… “Bond ratings are used to identify a level of risk associated with investing. Better ratings can command lower interest rates for a school district or government entity issuing bonds.”...
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Early childhood and alternative programs shutting down in western KS
“The district’s 4-year-old, at-risk program, which used to prepare children for kindergarten with basic English and math skills, has been shuttered for the 2015-16 school year because the district could not find anyone to teach it. “Earlier this year, USD 452 also shut down its alternative education program because of the way state funding is calculated under the new block grant funding formula… “USD 452’s learning center was one of four run with help from the SPRSC that closed in March, when the Kansas Legislature scrapped the state’s school finance formula and replaced it with block grants, according...
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Leave a Comment Proposed school board rule would be harmful for rural districts
“The underlying idea behind this legislation is that somehow these school board members are not making decisions that are best for students but instead for their relatives who work for local school districts. Applying that same logic to the Legislature would render it empty, because everyone is most likely related to someone in the state who works in an industry affected by lawmakers’ decisions. “Though the bill was tabled last session, it’s likely to come up again next session. Too many lawmakers listen to lobbyists who want to route public education money to private education, and they are...
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Leave a Comment Education, Inc. viewing in Wichita November 12th
We’ve seen this film and highly recommend it. It’s especially timely now to watch what happened to Douglas County, Colorado schools, and how the attack started with a school board takeover. Thursday, November 12 at 6:00pm College Hill United Methodist Church 2930 E 1st St N, Wichita, Kansas 67214 Privatizing schools isn’t the answer. All children deserve a good education; get informed and help save our public schools. Vote for candidates who support free and open public education, regardless of their political affiliation. This hour-long movie you will begin to find out how for-profit corporations are forming charter...
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